Change of Heart
by beelzemongirl
Summary: movie based, written for a friend for her birthday. What if Colin the Janitor never raped or molested Alessa, but rather befriended her? Would things be different? AU fic, a surprise pairing in future chapters. Written for a friend.
1. Colin's Arrival

**Alright, this is a fic I thought about typing a long while ago when I was cleaning up a floor at my mom's café. So I hope you guys like it. It's actually for a friend's birthday. So…yeah…**

Colin Masterson virtually had nowhere to go. He had recently gotten done with a nasty divorce with his wife, Cheryl. She wound up winning the house and their seven year old daughter, Sabia. So Colin had to move out and leave his precious little girl behind. But before he left, he promised her that she could come see him whenever she wanted as long as her mother allowed.

But with all that behind him, he was now living in a small apartment in Silent Hill, West Virginia. He had gotten a job as an elementary school janitor. It didn't bother him. Colin loved kids, but one thing did get to him: It was an all girl's school.

Colin sighed as he mopped a hallway. Being surrounded by so many little girls all day made him think of little Sabia. He thought of his daughter often. He wondered about her and worried about her, since she had a medical problem. His daughter was going blind already…

There was a surgery that could be done to fix it, but it was very expensive. Cheryl was a receptionist, so she didn't get a lot of money. Because of that Colin agreed to send money to help her pay for it. He figured he'd need another job, but he figured he'd worry about that later.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. The girls, all dressed in purple and black uniforms, ran out of their classrooms, happy to finally be out. But one girl caught Colin's attention.

This little girl looked almost just like Sabia with her black hair and blue eyes. Only this girl was extremely pale and she didn't look as happy as the others. Her eyes were red and her face tear stained. It bothered Colin, but it wasn't his business. Ever since he had moved here, he'd tried to stay out of the way of things. People were religious fanatics around here, and Colin tried his hardest to stay out of all that. As much as seeing her upset bothered him, Colin had to stay out of it. He went on mopping, trying to ignore his berating conscience.

"Excuse me" a little girl's voice sounded behind him.

Colin turned and saw that same girl behind him. "Oh, am I in your way?" he moved, "Sorry about that. Be careful, it's slippery".

The girl's head hung. "I don't care".

Colin bit his lip nervously as she walked along. He couldn't help but wonder what was wrong. What upset this girl so much that she didn't care what happened to her? He stood still and alert, ready to catch her if she fell. Thankfully she didn't. He went back to mopping.

Maybe the other kids bullied her. But why? She was a pretty one and she seemed really nice. Someone like her would have tons of friends in California, where he was from. Colin focused on his work again. He didn't have time to worry about some little girl when he had his own problems. Quietly, he went back to mopping. Not expecting to see her again.

** Alright, so I hope you guys like this so far. It's for a friend, and I think it's a pretty good story so far, so yeah…**


	2. Colin meets Alessa

**Okay, here's the next chapter guys. I hope you like it. **

Alessa Gillepsie led a tortured existence in Silent Hill. The people scared her and they hated her. Even the other girls at school hated her. She didn't have a father like they did. In the eyes of everyone in Silent Hill, she was a sin incarnate. Only her mother, Dahlia Gillepsie, cared about her.

Now it was all happening again. The girls in her class were surrounding her yelling "burn the witch", "witch", and throwing wads of paper at her. Alessa couldn't take it anymore and she ran to the girl's bathroom. She put her back to the door, breathing hard, her eyes watering. Finally, she crumpled to the floor, sobbing, face in her hands.  
But she wasn't alone…  
Colin was cleaning the girl's bathroom when he heard the door slam and then the sounds of little sobs, like a sad little spirit was in there somewhere.  
"What in the world?" he thought, coming out of a far off stall.  
Much to his surprise, it was her, the girl from the day before, sitting on the floor in tears. Now it was his turn not to stand it. Carefully, he approached the crying girl.  
"Hey…you okay, kid?" Colin asked.  
The girl sniffed and looked up at him.  
"I saw you yesterday!" she exclaimed.  
"Yeah, but hey, are you okay?"  
"I wish they would stop".  
"Stop what?"  
"Stop teasing me. They call me witch and throw things at me!".  
"What? Why?"  
"Because I'm not like them. I don't have a daddy like they do".  
Colin couldn't believe it. These people hated this innocent girl just because she didn't have a father! That made no sense! Colin couldn't help but feel bad for the kid.  
"What's your name?" he asked.  
"Alessa. Alessa Gillepsie".  
"I'm Colin. Colin Masterson".  
They shook hands and Colin sat down next to her.  
"Do the teachers know what these kids do?" he asked.  
"Yeah, but they don't care. They encourage it".  
"That's terrible! Does your mom know?"  
Alessa nodded. "Mommy knows, but she can't do anything about it".  
"Why not?"  
"Aunt Christabella tells her things, things I don't understand".  
"Like what?"  
"She says that we have to purify this filth and other crazy things".  
Colin thought a moment then spoke up.  
"Religious stuff. Don't worry about it".

"Mommy tells me the same thing".  
"Well your mom's right. Alessa, don't listen to them. They don't know you. What they think, say, or do doesn't matter. You're a good kid. So what does it matter what they think?"  
Alessa looked at him again, smiling a little.  
"You really think I'm a good kid?" she asked.  
"Of course, you seem pretty good to me" Colin smiled, "In fact, I think you're the best person I've met since I moved here".  
"Where are you from?"  
"California".  
"California! I've always wanted to go there! Can you tell me about it?"  
Colin smiled again. "I hate to tell you this, but I'll have to tell you another time. I gotta get back to work".  
Alessa shrugged considerately. "Okay".  
She got up to leave, but Colin told her to wait a moment.  
"Yeah?" she asked.  
"Alessa…if they ever upset you, you can come find me. I'll stop whatever I'm doing for you".  
Alessa smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, Colin. I will".  
"That's a good kid. Now run along and remember: What they think doesn't matter".  
"I will. Thanks again" Alessa walked out.  
Colin watched her leave and he noticed that the girl now had a bit of a skip in her step.

**So there's that chapter. I hope you guys liked it. I think you're really gonna like the next one. So see you guys then! **


	3. Bonding and a chance meeting

**Okay guys, so here's a new chapter to read. I worked hard on it. So I hope you like it. **

Over the next few weeks, Alessa and Colin got to know each other. Whenever Alessa's mom was late to pick her up, Alessa would accompany her new found friend as he cleaned some rooms near the main office. All the while, Colin would whistle a little tune to himself whenever Alessa wasn't talking to him. One afternoon she got curious about it.  
"What's that song?" she asked.  
"It's called Closing Time. It's by Green Day".  
"Green Day?"  
"You've never heard of Green Day?"  
"No" Alessa shook her head.  
"They're a band from Oakland, California".  
"Colin, can you tell me about California?"  
"Well at the moment, I kinda can't. I got a ton of stuff here to do. I'm off on weekends, so maybe if your mom lets you come see me, I'll have plenty of time to tell you all about it".  
Alessa smiled big. "You'd love mommy. She's really nice and very pretty".  
"I'll bet" Colin replied, still cleaning the chalkboard in Alessa's classroom.  
Alessa was quiet for a moment and then spoke up after a little while.  
"I've told her about you, you know. I've told her how nice you are to me".  
Colin stopped for a moment and then looked at her.  
"Did you tell her I'm an adult?"  
"No…Oh no, was I supposed to?" Alessa stressed.  
"Hey don't worry about it" Colin said, but it still looked like she was about to cry. So he put a nice hand on her shoulder.  
"Hey, don't worry about it. I'll explain everything to your mom".  
"You're not mad?"  
"No of course not. Why would I be?"  
"Because I didn't tell her the whole truth".  
"But you didn't lie to her did you?"  
"I'd never lie to mommy!" Alessa said defensively.  
"Then you have nothing to be upset about" Colin smiled.  
Alessa smiled back, her face lightening up a little bit.  
"Colin, is your job hard?"  
He shrugged and continued on with the board. "Eh…it can be at times, but I can cope".  
"Can I help you?"  
Colin stopped dead again. "You wanna help?"  
"Yeah. Friends help each other don't they?"  
"Very true"  
Alessa climbed off the desk she was sitting on. She took up the extra rag, dipped it in the water bucket and began to help her friend. Colin smiled to himself. The girl reminded him so much of Sabia.  
He was pulled away from his thoughts when he felt cold water flick on to his face. Colin looked at Alessa, who smiled slyly and looked away. He raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Colin rung out his rag and flicked some of the excess water at Alessa.  
"Hey!" Alessa yelled in mock surprise, "What was that for?"  
"Oh like you don't know…" Colin laughed a little.  
Alessa didn't stand for it. She put her rag down and quickly dipped her little hand in the bucket. She flicked water off her hands at Colin's face, careful not to hit his eyes. Colin laughed.  
"Why you little-"  
Alessa flicked more water, stopping him. Colin stopped laughing, smiled, and dipped his hands into the water and flicked her back. Soon enough, they were chasing each other around the room, moving around the desks, which were a pain to Colin, and served as an advantage to the younger, more energetic Alessa.  
Alessa laughed from one side of the room. "You can get me!"  
"Oh I bet I can!" Colin blocked her when she moved again. He caught her and then actually started tickling her playfully, like he used to do with his daughter.  
"Okay…stop…I surrender, Colin!" Alessa managed between laughing fits.  
At this time, Colin heard the door open. He looked over at the door to see a most lovely light red haired woman looking strangely at him and Alessa. Colin immediately released the girl and she ran over to the woman, hugging her waist tightly.  
"Who are you?" the woman asked him.  
"Mommy…that's Colin".  
"Wait…you're Colin?"  
"Yes ma'am. You must be Miss Gillepsie" Colin dried off his hand and extended it to her to shake.  
The woman shook it, but a little cautiously. "Yes. I'm Cassandra. Cassandra Dahlia Gillepsie, but you can just call me Dahlia".  
"Dahlia…beautiful. Well I gotta say" Colin released her hand, "That you have a really sweet little girl".  
"Thank you. Are you new here?"  
"Kinda. I moved here from San Francisco".  
"Oh wow…long drive".  
"Yeah, you're telling me".  
"I can't even begin to thank you enough for being so nice to Alessa".  
"Well she's a good kid. She doesn't deserve to be treated like this".  
"Is there anything I can do for you? I mean, we can go out for coffee or something one day".  
Colin smiled. "I'd like that very much, Dahlia".  
"So when are you off?"  
"Uh…I'm off Friday afternoons and on weekends".  
Dahlia smiled pleasantly."Alright, it's a date".  
"So it is".  
With that settled, Dahlia and Alessa left, all three of them smiling.

**Not sure if that chapter's longer than the rest, but it was a pain to finish typing…I hope you liked it. **


End file.
